Antrix Devas deal: ED files money laundering case to probe alleged 'wrongful' gain of Rs 578 cr

Bangalore: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case to probe alleged Rs 578 -crore “wrongful” gain to private multimedia company Devas by Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO. A criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been filed by the agency’s zonal office in Bangalore after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR in the case, registered in March 2015. “The agency has named various individuals and entities in its complaint who were earlier named in the CBI FIR. The proceeds of crime in this case are being detected and summons will be issued soon,” official sources said. [caption id=“attachment_1997291” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Thinkstock Images[/caption] The agency is already probing alleged instances of foreign exchange “contraventions” in this deal after it registered a case in this regard in 2012. Now, with the slapping of fresh charges under PMLA, sources said that a set of fresh Letters Rogatory (overseas judicial requests) will be sent to the US and a few other countries seeking assistance. CBI had registered the FIR against Executive Director of Antrix, KR Sridhara Murthi, MG Chandrasekhar and R Viswanathan of Forge Advisors, Devas Multimedia Private Ltd and unnamed officials of Antrix, ISRO and Department of Space. The agency had slapped sections like 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code along with relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act against them. The Antrix-Devas deal had seen the early exit of G Madhavan Nair as Chairman of ISRO as he was the head of the Governing Council of Antrix when the deal was finalised. CBI had alleged that the accused persons had entered into a criminal conspiracy and the government officials abused their position by favouring Devas by giving it rights for delivery of videos, multimedia and information services to mobile phones using S-Band through GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A satellites and terrestrial systems in India. The accused officials “thus caused wrongful gain of Rs 578 crore” to the private firm and its owners, CBI had alleged. The ED, sources said, will here look for the flow of tainted funds, suspected to have been laundered by the accused to create personal assets. CBI had also said, while including the ED noting in its FIR, that a deal between Antrix and Devas was fixed in principle in January, 2005, for lease of S-Band transponders. However, the then Executive Director of Antrix signed it on behalf of Antrix six months later only after ensuring that Chandrashekhar and Viswanathan were majority stakeholders in Devas multimedia, which roles they continued till 2008-09. The change in the board, where a US company represented by Chandrashekar and Viswanathan had majority stakes, was never verified by Antrix as the agreement had gone in violation of Shankara Committee, which had recommended execution of any such agreement with an Indian company only. Antrix had signed a deal with Devas in January, 2005, to provide it with crucial S-Band wavelength, which is primarily kept for strategic interests of the country. The spectrum was meant for running digital multi-media service by leasing 90 per cent transponders on two satellites – GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A. Following complaints of massive irregularities, the then government scrapped the contract in 2010 and ordered an inquiry by a high-powered review committee headed by the then CVC Pratyush Sinha in February, 2014. PTI